


Colors

by jmurb30



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Bilingual Lance (Voltron), Experimentation, Galaxy Garrison, Galra Keith (Voltron), Hurt Keith (Voltron), Implied/Referenced Torture, Keith (Voltron) Angst, Keith (Voltron) Has Issues, Keith (Voltron) Has Panic Attacks, Keith (Voltron) has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, Keith (Voltron) is a Mess, Laboratories, Lance (Voltron) has insomnia, M/M, Orphan Keith (Voltron), Pre-Kerberos Mission, Protective Lance (Voltron), Protective Shiro (Voltron), Space Dad Shiro (Voltron), Team Bonding, Torture, Trust Issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2020-06-17
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:27:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23862265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jmurb30/pseuds/jmurb30
Summary: When Lance McClain gets to the Galaxy Garrison, he is esctatic. His friends are great, classes are amazing, but at nights, something is off. He heards screaming, loud, piercing. Where, or more so who, are those screams coming from? And what will await if Lance finds out?
Relationships: Adam/Shiro (Voltron), Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 107





	1. Orange and White

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the start of it all. Lance’s first days at the Garrison.

He couldn’t believe it. He couldn’t believe that he, Lance McClain, was now at the Galaxy Garrison. It was even harder to believe he was here in Texas, here in America.

Lance fixed his orange and white cadet uniform and held the arms of his backpack tight, falling in line with the other new recruits. This was going to be the start of the rest of his life, and he simply couldn’t wait. He listened patiently as a commander gave a welcoming speech and then called off names of the dorm numbers and roommates.

“Room 18 C: Lance McClain. Room 16 C: Hunk Garret and Pidge Gunderson....”

Lance was rooming by himself? Sweet! That meant he wasn’t going to be paired with someone annoying, or someone who snored. And a shower all to himself? This was going to be great. They were soon dismissed to meet their roommates and get settled in. Lance did so quickly and then knocked on the door next to his.

A small boy with huge round glasses and crazy blond locks answered the door. “What do you want?”

“What do I want? Uh... The name’s Lance.” He shot the short boy finger guns. “I’m in the dorm next to you. I wanted to come over and see what’s up with you guys.”

“Oh. Well. I’m Pidge, and the big man over there is Hunk.”

“Nice to meet you Pidge.”

~~~~

Lance and Pidge were both still talking in the hall when they heard a siren. “New recruits. Be at the central hub in 10 minutes.”

Lance looked over at Pidge. “I guess that’s for us.”

“You’re right. Hunk? You ready?”

A hefty man came to the doorway. “Whenever you are Pidge. Oh. Hi. I’m Hunk.” His voice was so gentle and sweet. Lance was liking the way these friendships were going.

“Nice to meet ya Hunk. The name’s Lance.”

“Alright. It’s going to take us about three minutes to get to the central hub. Lets roll out.”

“Wait,” Lance said, “Pidge. How do you know the way to the central hub?”

“My older brother started here five years ago. I used to sneak in to see him. I know this place like the back of my hand.”

“Wait? Seriously?” Hunk asked as they walked, “What’s you’re older brother’s name?”

“Matthew. He’s currently in space.” It wasn’t completely a lie. Matt wasn’t in space, he was on campus, but he did start at the Garrison five years ago. Matt supported Pidge’s desire to start her own life at the Garrison, not living in the shadow of “The Matt Holt”.

They soon came to the central hub, where they were given their schedules and classes, as well as met with junior officers to show them around. Lance’s mouth dropped just looking at them. They were legendary.

Iverson, their senior officer, then began to speak. “Recruits, this is the central hub of the Garrison. To the south is, as you already know, the dorms. To the east is where your classes will be held. To the west is the dining hall and rec room. And the north is the sim labs. All your professors’ offices are to the southeast and administrative offices are to the southwest. Any questions?”

Lance looked around. There were none. “Great. Now, I will pair all of you up with a junior officer who will answer any personal questions as well as well as show you around the campus.”

Lance listened as everyone was paired up, waiting to see who he would be with. “Pidge Gunderson you are paired with Matt Holt.” Lance was in awe. Pidge was going to be led around by “The Matt Holt” the smartest person in the entire Garrison. That was so cool. “Hunk Garret. You’re with Adam West.” And Hunk got to be with Adam!? Adam was the second best pilot next to- “Lance McClain. You’re with Takashi Shirogane.” Next to Shiro. Lance was bouncing with excitement. He was going to be showed around campus by _Shiro_. “You are dismissed.”

Lance nervously walked up to Shiro. “Hi, the name’s Lance.” He wanted to play it cool. Shiro was the best pilot the Garrison had, already being in space several times in only the past five years. But now he was a teacher due to a launch accident that killed his crew and resulted in the amputation of his right arm, now metal.

“Nice to meet you Lance,” he extended his metal arm, “I’m Shiro. I’m going to be showing you around.” Lance shook his hand. “I’ll give you a minute to look over your schedule. Excuse me for a second, I need to talk to junior officers West and Holt.”

Lance nodded and watched as Shiro snuck up behind Matt, stealing the glasses right off the boy’s face.

Matt turned around. “Shiro that wasn’t funny the first time and isn’t funny now.”

Shiro laughed and handed the glasses back. “I only meant to tease.” Shiro looked over at Pidge and extended his arm. “I’m you’re brother’s pilot, call me Shiro.”

Pidge elbowed Matt relatively hard. “You told him!” She seethed.

“Relax. I won’t tell Iverson if you don’t.” Shiro took a good look at Pidge. “All those stories make so much sense now Holt. She’s exactly like you. Anyway, you want to walk with Lance and I?”

“No. Pidge knows the place by heart. We’re going to sneak around. I’m going to take her to the special projects and then up to the roof.”

“Alright. Have fun.”

Shiro then walked over and wrapped an arm around Adam’s waist. “Wanna walk with me?”

Adam turned around. “I think Hunk’s a little overwhelmed with all of this. I’m going to show him the parameter before the inside, so the halls will be a little less crowded. But I’ll meet you at the shack tonight. Dinner sound good?”

Shiro smiled. “Sounds great. I love you.”

Shiro then went back to Lance. “Alright. Adam and Matt already have plans. So I guess we’re flying solo.” Did Shiro seriously just make a pun? “Okay follow me.”

Lance and Shiro walked the building keeping up light conversation about what Lance’s future would hold. He saw all the boring stuff. The junior dorms, the rec room, the satellites, classrooms. And Shiro had done it on purpose.

They were taking a long walk around the parameter when Lance asked, “Do you ever miss home?”

Shiro looked over at them. “My first six months I did. But for Christmas they give us a three week break to go home and see our families.”

Lance nodded. “Can students also stay on campus during the break?”

“Yes. All facilities are open to students as well as shuttles to get into town. It helps students whose homes are unsafe or too far to go home. I’m originally from Japan and I only went back briefly after my accident. You’re one of the foreign students, aren’t you?”

“Yeah. I’m from Cuba.”

“That‘s interesting. Do you have any other anxieties about being at the Garrison?”

“Passing, really. I was the last name on the list.”

“I was too, mostly because I had difficulties speaking english. My first year I was roommates with Matt Holt. And he helped me get my grades up.”

“That’s cool.” Lance was now smiling. “I don’t have a roommate, but my next door neighbors seem smart, and nice? Well, Pidge is questionable but he seems to like me. Hopefully I could get help from them.”

“That sounds really good. Making friends here can be hard. Oh. We’re coming up to my favorite spot as a senior cadet. The sim lab.”

Shiro showed Lance the sim lab and let him go inside. “I don’t think I left the sim labs during my third year here.” He chuckled at the memory.

“This is definitely the coolest place so far,” Lance said in complete awe.

“Yeah. Most juniors bring everyone here first. When I was a new recruit my junior made me see the dorms, the parameter, the classrooms, all before coming here.”

Lance rolled his eyes and looked at Shiro. “And you decided to torture me in the same way.” Shiro nodded. “I like your style.“

Shiro smiled. He had done a lot of first day tours, but he knew this kid was special. Lance would be someone the Garrison would always remember. “We better get going. I have one more area to show you.”

Shiro led Lance to his personal favorite spot in the Garrison. He swiped his ID card. “Now you can’t touch anything in here. I usually stop the tour after the sim labs, but, I think this’ll blow your mind.”

Shiro walked Lance into a ship. “This is my next mission, I’m coming out of retirement. In a year and a half, Matt Holt, his father Sam, and I are going on a mission to one of Pluto’s moon: Kerberos. And this is the ship we are taking.”

Shiro was right: Lance’s mind had been blow. He was in an actual ship. One that was going to Kerberos, the farthest any ship would have ever gone. “This is... Beautiful.” Lance looked around at all the controls. “Your job is amazing.”

Shiro smiled. “And one day it’s going to be yours too.” Lance smiled back.

Shiro walked Lance back to the central hub. “This has probably been one of the best tours I’ve given Lance. Thank you for a pleasurable evening.”

“Thank you Shiro for the awesome tour.” Lance looked over to see Matt and Pidge as well as Adam and Hunk.

“Those your neighbors?” Lance nodded. “Before you go. Here’s my number. If you’re feeling homesick or need help with any problems, let me know. Not only am I your tour guide, but I’m also you’re first year mentor.”

Lance looked down at the slip of paper. “Thanks Shiro.”

“Now if I were you I’d get a bite to eat, a shower, and some shut eye. Tomorrow is going to be the longest day of your life.”

“I’ll see you around.”

Lance smiled and then ran to catch up with Pidge and Hunk.

~~~~

Lance towel dried his hair and locked the door. He set his alarm for 0-500 hours. He needed to be at the central hub by 0-600 to meet his teachers. He had taken Shiro’s advice of dinner and a shower. He climbed to his top bunk and laid on his back. This was now his life, and it was going to be amazing.

Lance shut off his lights and laid on his side, closing his eyes and immediately falling asleep. Lance was a light sleeper, but never imagined to wake at 0-100.

He sat upright, looking around with drowsy eyes. Who was screaming? It was muffled, but still audible. They sounded in pain. He got up, unlocking his door to look down the hall. Did no one else hear it? He went back into his room, but heard it again. Where was it coming from?

Lance looked diligently around his room. There was a vent; maybe it was coming from there. Chances are a commander or an admiral was taking care of it. Lance decided to go back to sleep, or at least try to.

0-100 soon turned to 0-330 and Lance still hadn’t fallen asleep. He still heard screaming, and now crying as well. What was going on? Should he tell someone?

Lance got up and out of bed, throwing on some jeans and a shirt. He wanted to help. He needed to help. He laced his shoes and stalked down the hallway, as quiet as possible. He started on his floor and worked up to level D. He leaned his ear against each door.

He was walking up the stairs to level E when he felt a hand firmly on his shoulder. He turned around to see Iverson. He immediately looked down at the ground and saluted.

“At ease Cadet.” Iverson stared at Lance. “Why am I getting calls from security saying there is a junior cadet roaming the halls at 0-500?”

Lance looked a little shocked. He had been wandering for two hours?

“I’m sorry sir. I heard strange voices down this way. I was curious.”

“Next time, cadet, you tell me. Now get back to your dorm.”

“Yes sir.” Lance practically ran back to his room, locking the door. He sat against the door and listened. He still heard what sounded like whimpering.

Lance changed back into pajamas and tried to get some rest. He stared at the ceiling. He knew something wasn’t right. Tomorrow he decided he would go looking again.

~~~~

In the morning, Lance almost slept through his alarm. He was utterly exhausted. Those screams still rung through his head. Maybe Iverson would explain things at the central hub. Lance washed up and then knocked on Hunk’s and Pidge’s door.

“Oh hey Lance- are you okay? You look a little tired.” Hunk asked innocently.

“Yeah. I’m totally fine. Just a little homesick. Made it hard to fall asleep.” He felt bad for lying, but he didn’t want to talk about last night.

“I understand that feeling,” Hunk sympathized. “I miss my mom’s cooking.”

“Yeah. All I could think about was home. I was up for like all night because of it.” Lance gave out a long sigh. “I think we’ll get used to living here though.”

“I sure hope so,” Hunk said with a sad smile.

When Pidge emerged from the door, she looked like a total mess, hair all out of sort, and were those the same clothes as yesterday?

“You guys ready?”

“Pidge? Are you ready?” Lance asked, a little concerned with the hygiene of his friend.

“Yep. Let’s roll out.”

The three of them kept up light conversation as the walked to the central hub. When they entered the three were looking at each other’s schedules, discussing the similarities of them. Lance was overjoyed to have some classes with Hunk and Pidge.

Lance looked around at the hub, which was packed with teachers and students, and then down at his schedule. He went through the day talking extensively to all his teachers, which was neither fun nor enjoyable, but necessary. He just wanted a nap, and a face mask. Was that too much to ask?

Lance was nearing the end of his long list when he saw Shiro. He waved at Shiro with a smile. “Hey Lance,” Shiro called over. Lance walked over to Shiro’s booth. “We need to have a talk. Follow me.”

Lance nodded and hesitantly followed Shiro. Was he in trouble? Was he going to get kicked out for getting caught last night?

Shiro guided Lance into an empty classroom. “Is everything okay? Iverson told me he caught you sneaking around the senior cadet dorms last night.”

“I went to bed at 2300 but woke up at 0-100.” Lance took a deep breath. “I thought I heard something. I wanted to make sure everything was okay. Do you know if anything happened last night?”

“No. I don’t. I can talk to Iverson about it if you want me to.”

“I don’t want you to. I’ll text you if I hear it again. I just thought maybe you would know something about it.”

“I’m sorry that I don’t. That is very strange. Did you get any sleep last night?”

“Not really. Maybe an hour? But with being homesick I doubt I would have been sleeping very well.”

“Maybe you should go back to your dorm and sleep.”

“I still have some teachers to talk to.”

“Let me see your schedule. Who do you have left to meet?”

“Umm... Junior Officer West was next on my list.”

“Only two more. I’ll walk you over to Adam. I want you then to get some sleep.”

Lance nodded and followed Shiro over to his last couple teachers. Adam was by far his favorite. He really understood his students’ needs and anxieties. Shiro also walked Lance back to his dorm.

“I think this is where I leave you.”

“Thanks Shiro for helping me out. It means a lot.”

“No problem.” He looked down at Lance’s schedule. “I’ll be back to wake you up for sim lab orientation. I’m leading it, so the presentation won’t start without you.”

“Thanks so much.” Lance slowly closed his door, put on a face mask, and went to sleep.

~~~~

The rest of Lance’s day went much smoother now that he had some adequate sleep. He was thankful Shiro woke him up and was excited that Hunk and Pidge were going to be his sim lab crew. He crashed onto his bed, wanting to sleep so tomorrow wouldn’t be a repeat of today. 

But sure enough, at 2400 hours Lance woke to more screaming, and it sounded worse than yesterday. He stayed in bed and tried to fall back asleep. It was soon 0-240 and Lance got up and out of bed. He needed to find where, or more so who, those screams were coming from.

He put on his clothes and walked to where he had left off yesterday. He checked that floor and went upstairs. He searched another three floors. He still couldn’t find them. Iverson found him again.

“Cadet. Twice in a row? What is going on.”

“Sir? What? Where am I?” Lance knew lying to his senior officer was wrong, but what else was he supposed to say?

“Cadet, you are on level G. Do you remember how you got here?”

Lance shook his head. “Did I sleep walk or something?”

“I’m not sure Cadet. I’ll walk you back tonight. Tomorrow make sure to lock your door at night.”

“Yes sir.”

~~~~

Lance woke when the bell rang. Had he really fallen asleep again? He packed his bag and stood to leave. “Mr. McClain. Can I have a word?” Lance nodded and walked over to the professor’s desk.

“You wanted to see me Professor West?”

“Yes. This is the third time you have fallen asleep in my class this week. I want you to talk to someone and sort out what is going on.” Adam sat on his desk. “Are you sleeping at nights? Or do you want me to walk you to the nurse?”

“I’m sorry professor I think I just need to go to my dorm and lay down.”

“Don’t be sorry Lance. Hunk has been telling me that he hears the door to your room close at strange hours. You don’t have to talk about what is happening, but Hunk has been telling me this has been going on since school started in August. Now it’s late October.”

“Aww man. Hunk shouldn’t be worried about me. Tell him I’m going to talk to Shiro about it, okay?”

“I will. But I will be asking Professor Shirogane if you went to see him.”

“Thank you Professor West. I was also wondering if we could maybe meet sometime? I know my grades have been struggling and I was hoping to get some extra help.”

“Of course. See me after class on Monday.”

Lance nodded and left the room, pulling out his phone to text Shiro: _Shiro, can we talk?_

As he walked back to his dorm, Lance’s phone buzzed: _Sure thing. When are you available?_

Lance replied: _I’m free the rest of the night and this weekend._

Shiro: _Meet me at central hub_.

Lance put his phone away and turned around, walking towards central. When he got there he found Shiro in jeans and a leather jacket. Lance walked over to him. “Thank you so much for meeting me.”

“It’s no problem. Let’s go for a walk.”

Lance followed Shiro outside and to an isolated launch pad. The sun was hot and the air was dry; it reminded Lance of home, sort of.

“What’s going on?” Shiro asked, sitting down on the launch pad and looked out into the desert. Lance watched the horizon.

“I fell asleep in Professor West’s class again. I think I might have insomnia or something.”

“Or something?”

Lance nodded. “I keep falling asleep during my classes, and when I go to bed at night, I hear these screams. It started my first night here. Iverson thinks I just sleep walk and doesn’t bother with getting me back to my dorm anymore, but it’s more than that. I can’t focus. I can hardly think. The screaming sounds so bad, but I’ve checked the whole building twice over and I can’t find where they’re coming from.”

“Do you want me to talk to Iverson about it? Maybe he can find you another dorm to sleep in.”

“No. I like my room. Sometimes Hunk lets me sleep in his bed while he’s at class, which I appreciate. But, I would like to stay awake during my classes, and caffeine is bad for the skin, plus it gives me headaches.”

Shiro nodded in understanding. “Would you like to sleep in my shack tonight? It’s pretty remote, quiet. No one knows I live out there besides Matt and Adam. Maybe a change of environment can help?”

“That’s nonsense Shiro. I can sleep in my own bed, in my own room.”

“That’s alright too. It’s completely your decision.”

“Thank you Shiro.”

“It’s no problem. And Lance? Iverson wanted me to tell you that you have a meeting with him on Monday. He said you aren’t in trouble.”

~~~~

Monday came too fast, and Lance was soon sitting in a chair outside of Iverson’s office. He tapped his foot impatiently as senior officers, commanders, and administration passed him. He would give anything to be back in the safety of his dorm.

“In my office Cadet.” Lance nodded and silently walked in, saluting to Iverson. “Just sit.” Lance did so. “You aren’t in trouble, let’s start with that. I’ve had multiple reports of concern about you. Let’s start with mine. It has been two months and you are still sleep walking. I’ve watched you walk this entire building three times over. You’ve locked your door, I’ve locked your door. We need to get this under control.”

“I can try tying myself to the bed,” Lance deadpanned.

“Very funny Cadet.”

“Do you have any better ideas?”

“Go to the nurse tomorrow. I want you on something that will make you sleep still. That’s an order.”

“Yes sir.”

“Secondly. Your professors tell me you keep falling asleep during class. This is your warning. If you can’t stay awake then you can’t stay at the Garrison.”

“Yes sir.”

“Now go to your dorm. I want you asleep.”

“Yes sir.” Lance practically ran out of the office to his dorm. He changed into pajamas and laid down on the bed. He then took an ID card out of his jacket pocket, Iverson’s badge. Tonight was the night he checked the last place he could think of: the basement. Lance had been searching for two months, and he wasn’t going to give up now.

~~~~

That night, Lance put on his causal clothes and snuck out. He was a bit scared. If he was caught he could be expelled, but he was willing to risk expulsion if it meant he would be able to sleep at night. He peered out of his room and began to walk. He now knew this place like the back of his hand.

He went down a stairwell to the first floor. He then swiped the ID badge and went down two cases of stairs. He opened the door and stepped inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 1 and done! This is a work in progress, and hopefully things will pick up next chapter. Kudos and Comments are always appreciated!


	2. Violet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance finally finds out who is keeping him up at night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Initially chapters two and three were a single chapter, but the chapter seemed to be dragging on, so I broke them up so they’re less lengthy. Please read all tags before proceeding into this chapter.

Lance looked around. The entire place was stark white, sterilized. He stared down a long hallway, the entire length of it showcasing different doors. All of them appeared to have windows. Lance began to walk, peering inside, most containing rock samples and some plants. Lance supposed they were from different missions. He went all the way down the long hall. He stopped right under his dorm. It was the only door without a window.

Lance took out the ID badge and held it to the door, which buzzed. Lance hesitantly opened it. The room was dim; it reeked of blood, sweat, and urine. It took his eyes a moment to adjust.

He stepped in and closed the door behind him. “Hello?” There was no response.

Lance saw someone in the farthest corner of the room. But this person didn’t look much like Lance. He moved closer to the person. Tension was thick in the air. Something seemed wrong.

Lance flipped on a light switch and had a good look at who was in the cell with him. It was a boy. He looked about Lance’s age, but he was scrawny; too small to be healthy. The boy was huddled in on himself, hugging his knees. He looked cold; the only thing he wore was a pair of spandex shorts. Lance expected to find a person, but this boy’s stature was all that was human about him.

From what Lance could observe, the boy had light purple skin. The boy’s eyes were violet, full of fear and pain. He had large cat ears, visibly protruding from his head. Lance was appalled to see that the boy’s ears had no hair on them; in fact, he was shaved close to the scalp. The boy was covered in cuts and bruises; incisions and needle marks; and blood, lots of blood.

The boy stared at Lance as Lance stared back at him. Lance then sat on the floor, so that the boy knew he was a friend. The boy in response growled at him, showing his razor sharp fangs. Lance scooted back a bit, solely out of caution.

“Hey gatito. My name’s Lance. What’s your name?” Lance’s voice was soft and gentle. The boy only responded with another growl. “It’s alright gatito. I don’t wanna hurt you. I promise.” Lance got a little closer. The fear in the boy’s eyes broke Lance’s heart. The boy began to whimper. “Shhh. Está bien. Está bien.” He put a gentle hand on the boy’s cheek. The boy flinched back at first, but then looked Lance up and down.

Lance looked down at the boy’s body once more. “You’ve been hurt, haven’t you?” Lance felt sick. “You’re the one I heard upstairs, from my room.” Lance held out a hand, the boy sniffing it. Lance watched the boy, intrigued. “Can you speak?”

The boy looked at him, his head cocking to the side. Lance figured the boy heard him, but didn’t understand. “It’s okay. I promise.”

~~~~

The boy looked from this man’s toes up to his head. He couldn’t see much, the room was usually dark and the newness of the light was blinding. But he did see the man’s face. He usually didn’t get to see that part. Just paws and chests and white, blinding white. This man was different.

He didn’t feel how he usually felt with the others. With them his chest was tight and his body shook. But with this man his chest wasn’t tight. He scooted father away from his corner, towards the man. The man looked like the others who came to visit him. The man kept talking. To who? What did it mean? But the voice was quiet. His ears perked up to the sound of it. He never heard that before. It was always loud and mean.

The man put his paw back on the boy’s cheek. This time he didn’t flinch. The boy felt good. The paw didn’t feel like the other ones. This paw was soft, and gentle. A thumb was gently rubbed against his cheek. The boy let out happy sounds.

He looked up at the man’s face. He saw beautiful blue eyes. He liked the blue man. The blue man was nice. The boy gently pawed at the blue man’s chest, and the blue man let him. The blue man was a lot bigger than him, but the others were too. The boy cocked his head to the side. This blue man was still different.

The boy reached up to touch the blue man’s head fuzzies, growling when the blue man took his paw and held it. He wanted to touch the head fuzzies. He pulled on his paw, his heart starting to race. But soon the man let the paw go and the boy calmed, becoming curious. He moved back closer, reaching up to touch the head fuzzies again, and the blue man let him. The boy’s heart ached. He wanted head fuzzies too. It felt soft in his paw. He moved closer to it, wanting more. 

His paws met legs and he wanted closer. The boy sat down on the legs and reached to touch the head fuzzies. He then nudged it with his cheek. It felt good, so good. The boy let out more happy sounds. He looked up at the blue man’s eyes, and those eyes were looking at him.

He wanted to touch the blue. He put his paw up to touch the blue. But the blue man didn’t let him. He let out a small whimper. He wanted the blue. The boy tried again. The blue man put his paw up and the boy’s paw grabbed it. He looked at the blue man’s paw. He liked the blue man’s paw more. He gently brushed his tongue against it. The paw tasted salty. His paws usually tasted different.

The boy leaned into the blue man. He decided the blue man was safe. The blue man wouldn’t hurt him.

~~~~

The alien was in his lap. Lance had an alien in his lap. This was not okay. Not only that, but the alien was licking his hand and purring. Although Lance wanted to pull away, there was something about the boy that made him think otherwise. “Tasty?” He gave out a soft chuckle. He rubbed the boy’s back, watching as he melted into him. “You like that too. I’ll have to remember that.”

Lance heard shouting down the hallway. That couldn’t be good. “Okay gatito,” Lance gently stroked the boy’s cheek, “I have to go right now, okay? But I’m coming back. I promise you.” Lance started to stand up; the growling commenced. “I know gatito, I know. I’m coming back. I’ll be back.”

Lance stood up and was pounced on by the boy. In that moment, Lance was full of fear and anxiety, but also empathy and a great wave of sadness for this boy. “No no no. You have to stay here. You can’t come with me.” Lance tried to stand back up, but the boy was crashing all his body weight into him, and then some. He knew he didn’t have much time before he was caught.

He looked down at the boy who was on his chest. He was crying, close to sobbing. He hugged Lance’s torso tight and shut his eyes like he didn’t want to see what was going to happen next. Lance’s heart shattered. Deep down, Lance knew he was the only kind face this boy had ever seen.

The boy looked up and into Lance’s eyes. They looked overwhelmingly hurt and terrified. Lance smiled back at him. “It’s gonna be okay gatito. I promise you, but I have to go, now.” The shouting in the hall was close, and Lance’s heart was beating out of his chest as he tried to set the small boy on the floor.

~~~~

The boy felt so warm, so safe, that he almost missed the very heavy footsteps. He saw a flash of something, making him whimper. Too much movement, too much at once. He felt his chest tighten. The blue man was yelling, it was too loud. The boy started panting, he couldn’t breathe. Next came sudden flashes of light, right in his eyes and much too bright. The boy moved his face into the blue man’s chest, covering his ears with his paws and shutting his eyes as tight as he could. He let out small whimpers, wanting everything to stop. He then felt the nice back touches and leaned deeper into the blue man, letting out a relaxing breath. The blue man was safe.

The boy heard the soft voice again. The soft voice meant good things, right? He trusted the blue man, and so the soft voice must mean that it was safe. The blue man was then standing up, and the boy did not like that at all. He wanted to know more about the blue man and his strangeness.

The blue man started to walk away and the boy pounced, only to have three of the white men hold him down. He started to growl and bite, using his paws to get away from the white men. He didn’t like the white men. The white men hurt him. He wanted the blue man. He growled louder and whimpered, wanting to get the blue man’s attention.

One of the white men forced his head back and his neck to the side. He knew the sharp prick was coming, and he didn’t want it. He wanted the blue man. He jerked his head upwards and snarled at the white man who was now in front of him. He wasn’t going to leave the blue man without a fight. The boy heard more yelling, even louder, and then heard what sounded like sad noises.

The boy looked over at the blue man, earning him a hard punch to the stomach while he was caught off guard. He doubled over in pain and heard more yelling. He felt millions of paws on him, everything happening at once, too much at once. He tried to get up, but someone was holding his legs and paws. He wanted his paws back and started growling.

A fourth white man used both paws to force the boy’s head to the side, and although he tried, the boy couldn’t bite back. The clear liquid was injected into his neck. The boy was whimpering, wanting the white men off of him. He didn’t want more pain; he didn’t want more pokes and pinches and shocks. He wanted the blue man, the blue man and the nice touches.

The boy’s body was dropped to the floor, and he whimpered in pain. He curled into himself. So much was going through the boy’s mind and he didn’t understand any of it.

The boy’s eyes started to feel heavy and the boy closed them. He felt the drug everywhere, from the heaviness in his paws to the fuzziness in his head. He welcomed the darkness and his mind went blank.

~~~~

“Stay back!” Lance yelled as people in white lab coats barged into the cell. “Please don’t hurt him!” Lance looked down at the boy who was having a panic attack in his lap. Lance held him tight, shielding the boy from the scientists. “Don’t hurt him. Please, don’t hurt him.”

“Cadet. Come with us.” It was Iverson. Lance knew he was screwed, but he wasn’t leaving the boy, not like this.

“I’m not leaving him.”

“Cadet. That’s an order.”

Lance looked down at the poor boy in his arms, gently rubbing his back. He felt the boy relax into him, a good sign. “It’s okay gatito. It’s gonna be okay, I promise. I have to go now, okay? I have to go. It’s gonna be okay.” Lance cooed the boy a little while longer, holding him close.

Lance then gently sat the boy on the floor and stood up. He turned to walk away, but looked back when he heard whimpering and growling. Three scientists forcefully held the boy as he punched out, bit, and kicked.

“NO!” Lance ran towards the boy. “I said don’t hurt him!” Two scientists grabbed Lance, keeping him away from the boy, the boy that was fighting with every part of his being to stay with him. “Leave him alone!” Lance watched as the scientist forced the boy’s head to the side, taking out a syringe. Lance started crying, sobbing for this boy he just met.

Lance struggled, but could only watch as the poor boy was punched to his knees, his head forced to the side, and the needle plunged into his neck. “NO! STOP, PLEASE!” Lance watched as those violet eyes closed and the boy lost consciousness.

Lance was dropped to the floor, scrambling to get to the boy.

“McClain. I said come with us. You can either do it yourself or we will force you.”

Lance hesitantly stood up and walked out of the cell. Lance looked down at the ground, eyes red and puffy.

“First off cadet, I want my badge back.” Lance gave it to Iverson. It was over now. There was no going back, no seeing those violet eyes.

“Second of all, I want an explanation.”

Lance’s eyes remained on the floor. He was too shocked at the moment to speak. If he told the truth, god only knew what would happen to the boy. If he lied, he could get kicked out of the Garrison. His thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a hard slap to his face. Lance held his cheek and looked up at Iverson.

“I said: I want an explanation.”

Before Lance could think about it, the truth was spewing from his lips. “My first night here I heard screaming from my dorm. And the night after that, and the night after that. I couldn’t sleep. I started to look for who it was coming from. Officer, I’m sorry for lying about the sleep walking. I needed to find out what was going on. And now that I know I’m not just going to pretend like nothing happened.”

“I don’t expect you to,” a woman said, extending her arm. “I’m Admiral Sanda. G-00 trusts you, doesn’t it?” Lance shook her hand.

“First of all, it is a he. And yeah, he trusts me. The gatito was scared of me at first, but he grew curious, especially in my hands and hair.”

“Gatito?” Iverson questioned.

“How would you like a job?” Sanda asked.

Lance looked up. “A job?”

“In exchange for your education at the Garrison I will allow you access to his cell. You will be able to come and go as you please. All I ask is that you get him to obey. You get G-00 to eat, sleep, and obey orders given to him.”

“How is he to obey you if he doesn’t understand what you’re saying?”

“Teach him. Do you want the job or not?”

Lance was confused. “So you aren’t going to expel me?”

“No Cadet. We are not going to expel you. Now do you want the job?”

“In exchange for education. Mi mama doesn’t get a single bill.”

“Yes.”

Lance looked from her to Iverson and then back again. “Deal.”

Sanda gave him a file. “You are to tell no one of the information in this folder. You are allowed as much time as you want with G-00.”

“Can I spend nights with him?”

“Seeing the trauma we have caused you, I’ll get two of my men to bring down a cot.” Two officers then left to do so. “He is not allowed to leave his cell unless one of the scientists say so. You are also able to observe his testing if you desire but you must not interfere. Lastly, you are a privilege to him. If you do not get his act together, you will not get to see him. Understood?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“He should be waking up in a few hours. He was given a dose of melatonin. Review his case some time soon.” She then dismissed him and left. Lance went back into the cell, which now had a clock and a bed, and picked up the frail boy.

“I told you it would be okay, gatito.” Lance laid the boy on the bed and covered him in a blanket. He looked full of pain, even while he was asleep.

Lance opened the folder. He read everything intently. There was so much information on this kid, what more did they need?

_Subject G-00_  
_Name: Keith Kogane_  
_Age: 18_

“You’re so young Keith...” Lance shifted Keith into his lap as he read on.

_Gender: Male_  
_Race: Human, Galra_  
_Origins: Unknown, raised and found in Texas_

“Found?” Lance scanned through a couple of pages. “Parents. Here we go. _Mother of subject G-00 is unknown. Father was killed when subject was two years of age on duty._ Oh cariño. My poor gatito. I’m so sorry.” Lance then went back to looking at the first page.

_Height: 5’7.5  
Weight: 120 lbs_

“Dios mio that’s low. We’ll have to fix that.”

_Eye color: Violet  
Hair color: Black_

“Black hair.” Lance traced his fingers over Keith’s scalp. “Maybe I can convince them to let it grow out.”

_Abilities: hypersensitive hearing, advanced sense of taste and smell, sharp fangs, purple skin, night vision, claws..._

Lance picked up the boy’s hand, examining it. “Claws huh? Probably why you have no nails. You tried to hurt someone, didn’t you?”

Lance read on. The Garrison had records on everything concerning Keith. From his high aptitude and intelligence to healing rates and heat cycles. That poor, poor boy. Lance wanted to take him away, make him feel safe and loved.

Lance put the file under the cot and snuggled close to Keith.

~~~~

When the boy finally woke up, he felt warm, and soft. It felt different, strange. He usually woke feeling cold, very cold. He took in everything, unsure if he wanted to open his eyes. This could be a test. He listened. He heard thumping, very loud thumping. He also heard breathing. Someone was here with him. He then nuzzled his cheek into what was beneath him. It was solid, yet soft. It slowly rose and fell. The person who was with him was underneath him? It didn’t make sense.

The boy opened his eyes to see the blue man. The blue man was okay. The blue man was here with him. The boy let out whimpers and wrapped his arms around the blue man. He gently licked the blue man’s chin and cheek, wanting to see those blue eyes, wanting to know this was real.

Blue eyes looked at violet eyes, and the boy squeezed the blue man tighter. He never wanted to lose the blue man. He felt a paw on his back, gently touches. He liked those. He heard words: “Hey Keith. You’re finally awake.” He didn’t understand. He wanted to, but he didn’t know. All he knew was that the voice was soft and gentle, and soft and gentle meant safe. He started to cry. All that mattered in that moment was that he got to see the blue man again.

The boy buried his face into the chest of the blue man, sobbing harder and harder as the seconds passed. More gentle and soft words were heard, but he didn’t listen to them, just clinging to the blue man for dear life. The blue man gave him more nice back touches. It grounded the boy; it made him stop crying.

He looked up at those blue eyes again. The corners of the blue man’s mouth moved up as he looked at the boy, and the boy did the same up at the blue man. He sniffled and wrapped his arms around the blue man.

“I told you I’d come back Keith.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was much shorter than the first, but heavier as well. But hey, Keith! Comments and kudos are always appreciated!


	3. Blue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith starts to learn from the blue man, and makes a friend. But things are changing, changing in a way him and Lance aren’t happy about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It has been quite a while, but I finally finished chapter 3! I’m so excited to share it. There is a slight tw: mainly panic attacks. This will be my only time referencing tws, so please please please read the tags before this and the upcoming chapters. Thank you!

Keith? Why was that familiar? Why did he remember that? He wanted to know more. “Keith?” The boy heard it again and his head cocked to the side. “You remember that name, don’t you gatito?” The boy sat up and watched as the blue man did so too.

The boy tried to say the word, he wanted to say the word. “Kfff.” It didn’t sound right. He tried again. “K-Kth.” It was still wrong. He let out a growl.

The blue man held the boy’s paw. It was a gentle hold. The boy thought that the blue man wanted him to try again. “Take it slow, okay Keith?”

The boy tried again. “Keef.” It sounded better, but still not right.

“That’s su nombre, your name.” The blue man pointed at the boy. “Keith.”

The boy pointed to himself. “Keef.” He held his finger to his chest. “Keef. Keef.” He let out a whimper; he couldn’t do it.

“Hey, it’s okay. Kei-th.”

The boy tried again. “Kei-th. Keith.” The boy got excited. “Keith!” The blue man wrapped his arms around the boy and the boy did the same, repeating the word over and over again.

The blue man let go and pointed at the boy. “Keith.”

The boy pointed to himself and cocked his head to the side. “Keith?” Was he Keith? Was that what that meant? The blue man nodded and pointed. The boy pointed at himself: “Keith.”

Keith then looked at the blue man, pointing at him. “Keith?”

The blue man shook his head. He pointed to himself. “Lance.”

~~~~

Leaving for class that day was somehow easier. Keith seemed tired after hours of learning names as well as the events of last night, and fell asleep almost instantly after Lance had tucked him into the cot. Lance walked out of the cell and up to his dorm. He smiled to himself. He had actually slept, up until Keith licked his face, which was gross; Lance would just have to teach him not to do it.

Lance dressed in his uniform and then met Hunk and Pidge for breakfast. His day went by normally and rather quickly. He was able to stay awake through all of his classes. He hurried back to his room and changed into some sweatpants and a t-shirt. He then went to his bathroom, filling up a bucket of water and grabbing soap, a couple towels, and bandages. He also placed a nutrient bar in his pocket.

He snatched the keycard to Keith’s cell from his dresser and walked down to the basement. He hummed down the hall, placing the bucket down in order to unlock the door. When he did so, he gasped, quickly bringing the bucket inside and rushing to the form in the middle of the room.

Lance took Keith into his arms, holding him close. “Hey Keith. It’s okay. I’m here now.” Keith let out whimpers. Lance looked at Keith’s body. He didn’t look hurt, but he was shaking terribly. The boy held his right arm close to his chest. Lance gently took it and held it in his hands. It didn’t look broken or fractured. “What’s wrong?” He then turned it over to see bleeding needle marks on top of overused veins. “Oh Keith... I’m gonna make it better, I promise. I promise.” Lance knew whatever drugs the scientists injected into Keith were probably still in his system. All he could do was try to soothe the boy.

Lance picked up a washrag and gently dunked it in the bucket of warm water. He then rinsed it and gently wiped Keith’s arm, revealing the pale purple skin and dark blue and black bruises. Lance was gentle and diligent. He hummed softly, trying to keep Keith as calm and comfortable as possible. Keith didn’t seem to understand what was going on, and when Lance looked at those violet eyes, they were dull and distant.

As Lance was unrolling a bundle of bandages, a scientist came into the cell with a tray of food. “You can’t do that, I’m sorry.”

~~~~

Keith was in a haze of exhaustion and pain. It was all too much, always too much. His skin burned; it was too hot. He panted and let out whimpers. He didn’t like hot. The hot hurt. His head thumped loud in his ears, and he didn’t like that either. His head then started to hurt.

He heard ’Keith’ and yelped out. He felt someone holding him. He had to see who. He tried to focus, to see who he was with. His vision slowly became clear, and he saw those blue eyes. The blue man was here again. Keith nuzzled his head into the blue man’s chest. The blue man was safe. The blue man wouldn’t hurt him. The blue man would make the burning and thumping stop.

Keith’s back arched and he began to cry. The pain was getting worse. It felt like his heart was on fire. He couldn’t breathe. He whimpered and sobbed. It all hurt. It hurt too much for him to handle.

Keith felt a paw in his paw. The blue man was here. He listened. “Deep breaths Keith. Deep breaths. You gotta calm down. Está bien. Está bien.” Keith didn’t know what the words meant, but they were soft and gentle. Soft and gentle meant safe.

Keith’s vision started to become fuzzy, his mind and body trying to cope with the pain. He wanted it to stop. He leaned his head into the blue man, letting out small whimpers. He had no idea how long he stayed like that, but it felt long, too long to be in so much pain.

Keith opened his eyes when he heard another voice in the room. He couldn’t remember when his eyes closed or when the new person came in. His vision cleared and he looked up. He knew this man. He saw this man earlier, right? This man knew he was Keith. Keith knew who this man was too. “Evan...” He then leaned his head into the blue man, vision beginning to drift into a haze of fire.

~~~~

“He knows you?” Lance asked.

The scientist took the bandages and put them in his lab coat. “Yes. I’ve been assigned to this project for the past few years. I’m the youngest on the team. I’m a doctor; it’s my job to ensure this one is physically suitable for testing. Today when I took his vitals,” the doctor chuckled, “He looked up at me, and pointed to himself. He said ‘Keith.’ So I pointed to him, said ‘Keith’ and then pointed to myself: ‘Evan’. He’s smart, caught on rather quickly.”

Lance smiled. “I taught him that this morning when he woke up. He seemed to remember it... Keith has a fever. Is it safe to be this high?”

The scientist sat on the ground, laying a hand on Keith’s forehead. “I’m afraid not. By the looks of him, it was medically induced.” The scientist took a damp rag and placed it on Keith’s forehead, and then took another to help clean the blood from the poor boy’s skin. “His healing rates are faster than that of the average human. He should recover within the next few hours.”

“Why can’t I bandage him?” Lance asked.

“It confounds with what we are currently testing. I’m sorry. Bathing him is fine, but we can’t allow him to be bandaged.”

Lance moved to clean Keith’s back. “Is it okay if I keep teaching him?”

“I would appreciate if you did. He has a very high aptitude. He’ll learn rather quickly. At the moment he understands emotions through tones of voice and facial expressions. Because he never learned to speak, I think he uses those emotions to communicate. Sanda never let me test the theory.”

“I’ll have to remember that.”

“I’m Dr. Evans, by the way.”

“The name’s Lance McClain.”

“It was nice to meet you, Mr. McClain. I don’t think Keith is going to be eating any time soon. I’ll be leaving then.” Dr. Evans picked up the tray of food and left.

Lance finished cleaning Keith and then carried the boy to the cot. “I’m not really sure about your friend Keith...” Lance gently kissed Keith’s forehead and then arm. He quickly ran to dispose of the filthy bucket before Keith woke up. Lance came back down to see those violet eyes still closed.

~~~~

After the first week, Lance had gotten into a steady routine. He would go to his classes, hang with Pidge and Hunk until dinner, and afterwards go see Keith, who was usually already there curled into himself, crying and whimpering. 

Lance never went to observe Keith’s tests, but saw the extensive injuries due to them. Lance didn’t think it was possible to live day after day with so much damage, but day after day Keith was still alive, still breathing, still fighting, and Lance was grateful for that.

Keith always came back with new bruises. Lance supposed that Keith resisted the tests and had to be forced into them. Some days the damage was worse than the bruises. Some days Keith laid on the floor and twitched uncontrollably for hours on end. Sometimes he was screaming in pain, needle marks littering his arm. Occasionally Lance would come in to find Keith bleeding profusely. And sometimes Lance would find Keith unconscious in the middle of the cell. Despite this, every day, Lance would pick Keith up and hold him close, rubbing the boy’s back until he fell asleep.

Lance quickly learned to always come with a couple of nutrient bars and patience. On a normal day, Lance would tend to Keith, set out some worksheets for Keith to learn from, and take two nutrient bars out of his jacket pocket. Today was no different.

Lance looked over at the cot as Keith woke up. “Hey Keith.”

Keith remained laying on his side and looked over at Lance on the floor. Lance then sat on the edge of the bed, checking Keith for injuries. Today’s tests didn’t seem too bad, mostly bruising and a few cuts on the boy’s face and torso. Keith slumped into Lance, wanting attention. Lance gently rubbed behind the boy’s ear, a spot Lance accidentally discovered Keith loves to have scratched.

Lance handed a nutrient bar to Keith, whose eyes became ten times bigger just looking at it. Keith had quickly learned that the green wrapper meant food. “You hungry?” As if on cue, Keith’s stomach let out an agonizing howl.

As Keith ate, he looked at the sheets of paper Lance set on the floor. “Want to do some learning cariño?” Keith cocked his head to the side. Lance moved Keith and himself to the floor.

The two spent the day going over numbers and letters, as well as words Keith would need to know. Keith seemed to be hesitant when it came to speaking and answering, often needing to be prompted to speak. Lance was patient and encouraged Keith to try, often giving him kisses of praise when he answered correctly.

Dr. Evans also came to check up on Keith, making sure his vitals were strong and that the boy was gaining weight. Lance was beginning to trust the doctor. He would give Lance as much information as he could about Keith’s behavior as well as the testing, but Lance could sense there was more going on than the doctor was telling him.

After a long day of learning, Lance helped Keith onto the cot. Lance then laid down and couldn’t resist as Keith climbed onto his chest and curled into himself. Lance draped the blanket over both of them and ever so gently kissed Keith’s head.

“Buenos noches gatito. Sweet dreams.” Lance closed his eyes, falling asleep without problems.

~~~~

Lance bolted up from his desk at the end of the day, ready to see if his prank on Pidge had actually worked. He was two steps away from the door when Professor West stopped him. “Up for a chat Lance?”

“Um... Sure professor. Is everything okay?”

“Yeah. I wanted to congratulate you. It has been nearly two weeks and you haven’t fallen asleep in my class. Caffeine working out for you?”

“Actually, I’ve been sleeping at nights.”

Adam cocked an eyebrow. “You sorted out your insomnia?“

“Yessir.”

Adam looked out into the hallway. “Also, I wanted you to take a look at your last test.”

Lance took the packet and gaped at it. “I passed.”

Adam chuckled. “You did better than pass Lance. You aced it. Good work.” Lance smiled up at Adam, handing back the exam. “That’s all. Make sure to check in with Shiro some time to tell him you’ve been sleeping. You’re dismissed cadet.”

Lance saluted and ran out the door, only to get a bucket of water poured on his head. He looked up to see Pidge, with a bucket, laughing.

“Damnit Pidge!” He was laughing though. She got him good.

“Pretty ingenious, right? I even got Officer West in on it.”

Lance looked back to see Adam sitting on his desk, glasses covered in tears of laughter.

“Very funny. You guys got me.”

“The look on your face,” Pidge said between loud cackles. “And I bet you were running to see if _I_ was soaked.” Pidge took off her glasses and wiped them. “Anyways. Once you dry off, Hunk and I are going to play Killbot Phantasm I in the rec room. Want to join us?”

Lance rubbed his neck. “Actually I have to study for a huge physics test. Maybe some other time.”

“Alright. See you ‘round.”

Lance walked back to his dorm to change. He packed two nutrient bars and some worksheets for Keith. He then walked down to the basement. Lance thought about Keith. Keith had started to become less skittish and more curious. He wasn’t losing weight, but he wasn’t gaining either. He also slept more, which was concerning.

Lance opened Keith’s cell door, but Keith wasn’t there. He was usually back before Lance came down. Were they running different tests? Lance made the cot as well as set everything up for later that day. He then sat on the bed and did homework while he waited for Keith.

About an hour later, two scientists pushed Keith into the cell and slammed the door behind him. Lance raced to Keith’s side, pulling the boy into his lap. His breathing was ragged and he was drenched in sweat; there were more bruises and needle marks. “Oh Keith...” He opened those violet eyes and let out agonizing whimpers.

“I know, cariño; I know it hurts.” Lance kissed Keith’s forehead: a fever, much higher than the last ones have been. Lance was getting seriously worried. How much more of this could Keith’s body handle? How much more of this would kill him?

Lance quickly dismissed his thoughts to help Keith. He gently ran his fingers up and down Keith’s back. The boy’s body began to relax, and Lance knew Keith would fall asleep soon. “Está bien. Tú puedes dormir si tú necesitas. No estaré enojado contigo si tú duermes.”

Lance smiled and continued to talk to Keith in his native language; he found it to be calming for himself and Keith. He knew Keith couldn’t understand him, but he remembered Dr. Evans saying Keith understood the gentle tone of voice.

Lance looked down to see the boy asleep in his arms, just as expected. He gently picked up an unconscious Keith and laid him on top of the cot. His kissed his forehead and then cheek.

Lance laid down; holding Keith close: like he always did.

~~~~

Lance began to notice that Keith was returning to his cell later and later. It was unnerving to see him being forced out of his cell by four scientists at 0-600 as well as to see the boy return at 1700, whimpering and in pain. Lance wanted to address the situation, but no one listened to him, no one except Dr. Evans.

“He’s gone more and more now doc,” Lance explained while Keith slept in his lap. “And when he comes back he’s worse.”

“How so?” Dr. Evans asked.

“He’s been getting bad fevers. Worse than any of my siblings or I have ever had. He sleeps a lot more too. He doesn’t eat very much. And the veins in his arms are being overused. They’ve been a dark purple for weeks.”

“Let me take a look.” Dr. Evans gently reached for Keith’s arm, examining the bruises. “He’s healing slower than normal.” He then pulled out a few tools in order to take Keith’s vitals. “His heart is racing. I need to talk to the team. He shouldn’t be tested with these conditions. Thank you, for informing me.”

“No problem. I just want him safe.”

”I as well.”

There was a comfortable silence up until Keith woke up. Lance helped him sit up and drink a glass of water.

Dr. Evans then checked Keith’s heart rate and temperature once again. Keith growled but allowed the man to continue his inspection. Keith then nuzzled into Lance, yawning and purring. Lance gently kissed Keith’s hair as a silent ‘thank you’ for being nice to Dr. Evans.

“Oh, Lance. I just remembered. The Admiral wants to talk to you next Friday. You aren’t in trouble. She simply wants a status report of Keith’s progress.”

“Thank you Doctor.” Lance’s mind was racing. Admiral Sanda wanted to talk to him? It was mid-November, and he had been with Keith for quite some time, but it still was intimidating, very intimidating.

~~~~

Once Dr. Evans left, Lance focused his attention back on Keith, who was sitting against the cot and staring at a worksheet. “You want to learn colors?”

Lance got up and sat next to Keith. “R-ed. Red.” Keith looked up at Lance. Lance gave him a kiss on the head, and handed Keith a red crayon. Keith took it and colored the picture next to the word.

  
Keith then looked at the next word. “Blue.” Lance gave Keith another kiss and then the blue crayon. Keith colored the picture.

Lance leaned over to get the next color. When he looked back, Keith was staring at the blue crayon. “What’s wrong Keith?”

Keith looked down at the blue crayon, then up at Lance, down at the crayon, and up at Lance again. Keith pointed to himself. “Keith.” He then looked at Lance and pointed at his eyes. “Blue.”

Lance kissed Keith’s cheek. “Yep. Yo tengo ojos azules. Blue eyes.” Lance pointed to himself. “Lance.” Keith had said his name once, when Keith had learned his own name, but hadn’t said it since.

Keith pointed to himself in confusion. “Keith.” He then pointed At Lance. “Blue.”

Lance was confused. Why was Keith calling him blue? “No. My name is Lance.”

Keith pointed at Lance again. “ _Blue_.” Keith was starting to tear up.

Lance sighed and kissed Keith’s cheek, handing him a green crayon. “Tú eres muy inteligente. Let’s try this one now.”

The rest of the night Lance and Keith went over colors. Keith loved them. He played with the crayons for hours, saying the different color names and trying to write them as well. Lance smiled. Keith was talking, not answering a question, but talking.

~~~~

Lance and Keith had the week to themselves due to Keith’s fatigue and high fevers. Dr. Evans had convinced the team to give Keith a break. It also gave Keith some much needed time to recover and learn. But now Lance was anxiously tapping his foot while waiting for Admiral Sanda. He had been worried about this conversation all week, which greatly impacted his sleep schedule and ability to focus.

The Admiral sat down in her chair. “Relax Cadet.” Lance slumped down into his seat. “The team has given me good news about your progress with G-00. Is it obeying as I instructed?”

“Yes ma’am, but I’m conc-“

She held up her hand, demanding silence. “I want to know what subject G-00 has learned since you started this position.”

“Well, he knows his name, as well as Dr. Evans and mine. He can speak, but not independently. If you ask him a question he will answer but he doesn’t speak on his own yet. He can write and read; he actually has the reading level of a first grader, which is impressive given that-“

“Enough. What else does it know?”

“He knows colors and can recognize many objects. I’m going to start teaching him math tomorrow as well as push him to read chapter books and write essays. He has an extensive vocabulary for someone who doesn’t talk.”

“That is impressive progress. Now I also have to discuss its new treatments with you. There will be some changes to its routine that you need to know.”

“How so?” Lance was now overwhelmingly anxious. Keith was getting new tests, one that would change his daily routine? Keith was a whimpering mess if Lance showed up to the cell five minutes later than usual. Keith wasn’t ready for a change. He needed consistency.

“For one it will have less time in the lab. Only three or four hours are needed. I want you to focus more on its studies. By winter break I expect it to have the aptitude of a fifth grader. Understood?”

“Yes ma’am.” The intellectual level of a fifth grader? Keith couldn’t talk on his own, let alone know the anatomy of the human body or be able to read novels. He needed more time than that. However, an order was an order, and Lance couldn’t argue with his superiors.

“In addition, subject G-00 needs to be sleeping only eight hours a day. No more and no less. It is no longer allowed to sleep after testing.” Lance was in shock. Keith needed a nap after testing. It was how his body recovered.

“And lastly, you are no longer allowed to give it nutrient bars. It’s eating habits must be monitored by the team and will be done in the lab. Understood?”

“Yes ma’am.” That didn’t make sense. One of his duties was to get Keith to gain weight, and now he couldn’t do that anymore? There was more to this story, much more than the admiral would tell him, much more than he would be able to ask.

“Good. You are dismissed Cadet.”

Lance saluted and walked back to Keith’s cell. He thought about the rough road that lay ahead for Keith. Lance knew he would have to be more patient with the boy, especially now that Keith was going to be sleeping less and not receiving the nutrient bars he loved so much.

Lance entered the cell to see Keith hugging his pillow, face wet with tears. Lance took a deep breath and smiled. “Hey cariño. It’s okay. I’m back. I came back.”

~~~~

Keith woke up colder than usual. Colder and much lighter. His eyes shot open. Where was the blue man? The blue man always slept with him. Keith looked around his room but didn’t see the blue man.

He tried to remain calm. The blue man taught him how to take deep breaths. The blue man said he would always come back. Keith knew he had to believe that the blue man would come back.

Keith stared at the clock. He knew how to count, the blue man had taught him how to count. So Keith stared at the clock, counting how many times it changed. Every time it changed was more time without his blue man.

Keith had counted to fifteen and there was still no blue man. He hugged his pillow. The blue man would show up soon, wouldn’t he? He would show up and give Keith scratches behind his ears and soft words and kisses. Keith loved kisses. The blue man couldn’t just be gone. He had to come back. He promised. And Keith learned that promises can’t be broken.

Keith had counted to twenty five and he was shaking. Maybe the blue man was hurt. Maybe the blue man needed him. But he couldn’t leave the room. The white men would hurt him if he left the room. Keith began to cry. He didn’t know what to do or where his blue man was.

Keith had counted to thirty seven and the blue man came back. Keith whimpered and tried to get out of bed. The blue man was soon sitting next to him, pulling Keith into his arms.

“I told you I’d come back. I’m here now.”

Keith looked up at the blue man. “P-pr-prom-ised.” He sniffled and buried his face into the blue man’s chest.

The blue man kissed the top of Keith’s head. “I did promise you. And I came back. I came back.”

Keith nuzzled into the blue man and took more deep breaths. “Sorry.”

“Hey now, don’t be sorry Keith. Don’t be sorry. I’m here and it’s okay.”

Keith hugged the blue man a little tighter, beginning to calm down. He pressed himself into the blue man’s chest and listened to the thumping. He liked the thumping. It was always slow and nice.

Keith yawned and snuggled into the blue man. After many moments of comfortable silence, Keith said: “Thirty seven.”

The blue man looked down at Keith. “Thirty seven?” Keith nodded and pointed to the clock. The blue man looked over at it. “It says fifty two.”

Keith shook his head. “Thirty seven.”

“Cariño, dime. Tell me what thirty seven means.”

Keith furrowed his brow. “Thirty seven.” He pointed to the clock. “Thirty seven.”

The blue man looked over at the clock, then back at Keith. “Did it say thirty seven when you woke up?”

Keith shook his head. “ _Thirty seven_.”

“I know. I know. Thirty seven. It wasn’t thirty seven when you woke up. It’s fifty five now...” Lance looked at the clock, then back at Keith. “Did the clock change thirty seven times?”

Keith nodded. “Thirty seven.”

The blue man hugged Keith and kissed his cheek. “Tú eres muy inteligente. I’m so so proud of you cariño. You’ve been awake for thirty seven minutes. That’s what you were trying to tell me.”

Keith cocked his head to the side. He didn’t understand what a ‘minute’ was. He wanted to know more.

The blue man smiled. “I think today we should focus on telling time.”

The blue man handed the clock to Keith and started to explain what ‘seconds’ were.

~~~~

As Christmas approached, Lance began to see changes in Keith. He seemed much angrier, but never at Lance. Keith would come back from testing temperamental, which transformed into utter exhaustion and pain. It broke Lance’s heart to see Keith look so broken down.

Keith also didn’t sleep well at night. The poor boy would toss and turn for hours on end. Lance soon began to notice Keith’s rapid weight loss. He hated that he could no longer feed Keith. He didn’t think the scientists fed him enough. Keith’s bruises never seemed to heal. His skin was almost entirely blue and black. The parts of Keith’s skin that were unmarked by abuse were paler than any person Lance had ever seen.

Keith adamantly didn’t like the new routine. He fought with anyone that tried to take him from the cell, which resulted in unnecessary violence from the scientists. In order to protect Keith, Lance would have to walk Keith to the lab before heading off to class. Lance promised himself that he would never observe the testing, but the mere site of the lab gave him nightmares. Every day Keith would try to search Lance’s pockets for food, food Lance no longer carried with him. He would cry when he was tired, and growl when Lance wouldn’t let him sleep. Keith started to have a harder time focusing on his homework and cut out all verbal communication, only saying “no” or “please”. He had many more tantrums and had a hard time coping with his separation anxiety. But Lance couldn’t blame Keith, the boy didn’t understand what was happening; neither of them did.

Lance didn’t look better than Keith. Lance hardly slept at nights, thoughts concerning the Garrison and Keith clouding his thoughts. He was so afraid of what was happening to Keith, what those scientists were doing in that lab while Lance was attending class. Lance ate little, not wanting to eat with Keith in the room. Lance hung out with Pidge and Hunk less and dedicated more time to being with a crabby Keith. But worst of all, Lance was loosing his patience with the alien.

Lance was about to raise his voice to Keith when Dr. Evans came in. “Am I interrupting?”

Lance looked over at the doctor with bloodshot eyes. “No. Keith’s just in a bad mood.”

The doctor nodded and sat on the floor. Keith grumbled and crawled over to the doctor. Dr. Evans laughed, “You’re in a bad mood?” Keith growled in response.

“He hasn’t talked in weeks. Mostly just growling and carrying on. How much longer is his routine going to be like this?”

“I’m not sure, but I hope not long. In the meantime I do have something that I think will lift his spirits.” Dr. Evans pulled out a syringe, but it had no needle. Keith cocked his head to the side, then gave it a sniff. “It’s okay. Try it.” Keith gave it a little lick. He smiled and then began to suckle on it. “Yeah. I bet you wanted that.”

Lance looked at the two. “Dr. Evans? What exactly is that?”

“It’s a little something filled with proteins and sugars. When I finish feeding him, I want to talk to you about something. Nothing of great importance, just thinking about winter break that is coming up.”

“Of course Doctor.” Lance knew that this room was bugged. When the doctor said ‘nothing of great importance’ it meant ‘to be discussed out of earshot’. What could this mean? Was there something wrong with Keith? Would winter break start a new form of testing? Lance stared and waited in anticipation as Keith laid in Dr. Evan’s lap, suckling on the protein filled tube.

Once the syringe was empty, Keith gave out a whine for more. Dr. Evan’s gave a sad smile. “I’m sorry bud. All gone.” Keith scrambled over to the cot, settling down from his previous tantrum. He wiped his nose and then tried to focus on a worksheet.

Lance and Dr. Evans stood up and walked out the cell, leaving Keith to his own devices. Lance took a deep breath.

Dr. Evans looked both right then left down the empty hall. “Next week you leave for winter break, correct?”

“Yeah?” Lance was confused. He planned to stay at the Garrison for break so he would be able to monitor Keith. It hurt him not to be able to visit his family, but Keith needed him more.

The doctor placed a plastic card in Lance’s hand. “Good. When you leave, I want you to take Keith with you.”

“Wait a minute. You want me to—“

“Hush... Yes. Do it. These tests are overexerting Keith’s body. This project is far too out of hand. I’m afraid if he doesn’t leave, he won’t survive much longer.”

“It’s not going to be easy, but I have some friends. They can help.”

“That’s good. I slipped some antidepressants into Keith’s food that will help keep Keith calmer and hopefully more energetic. You seem to need a break.”

“Yeah, I do. But I can’t blame Keith. He’s tired and hungry all the time. I would be in a bad mood if I was in that state. Dr. Evans, I’m worried about him. Are they feeding him enough?”

Dr. Evans looked down the hall. “They aren’t feeding him at all.”

Lance’s eyes widened. “You can’t be serious.” They weren’t feeding Keith. They were letting Keith starve. No wonder Keith was in a bad mood.

“They are trying to see if they can manipulate his body to change. They have a plan to force change if this method isn’t working, and I want Keith to be long gone before they can test those theories.” They heard footsteps coming. “I have to go. Stay safe.”

Lance looked down at the keycard in his hand. He would get Keith out of there, if it was the last thing he did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Keith. The kid can’t catch a break, can he. Chapter 4 may take a while to write, so please be patient. Comments and Kudos are always appreciated!


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